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What's one community event at McPherson Elem School more people should show up to?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
794
Elementary
DISTRICT 463 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS DIST 299·NCES 170993000959
McPherson Elementary School
4728 N Wolcott Ave, Chicago, IL 60640 · (773) 534-2625 · Cook County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL794 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
11.6:1
69 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.6:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
42%
331 students
DISTRICT 78% · STATE 56%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 123 | 15% |
| Kindergarten | 114 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 109 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 80 | 10% |
| Grade 3 | 67 | 8% |
| Grade 4 | 91 | 11% |
| Grade 5 | 49 | 6% |
| Grade 6 | 50 | 6% |
| Grade 7 | 50 | 6% |
| Grade 8 | 61 | 8% |
This year's kindergarten class (114) is 87% larger than its 8th grade class (61).
Student demographics
66%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · STATE 69% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
McPherson Elementary School→Amundsen High School
Based on published attendance-zone data from Chicago Public Schools Dist 299. Zones change; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
51.7%
IL avg 51.0% . +20.9pp since 2023
Math
36.4%
IL avg 37.9% . +18.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 52 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 36 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Illinois schools, those numbers are about 51 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 21 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 18 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 51.7% | 36.4% |
| 2023-24 | 30.8% | 18.3% |
% Proficient (Levels 4-5), all students and all tested grades.
Source: IAR + ISA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
39.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
47.4%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-8.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 39% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 47% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Illinois's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like McPherson Elementary School
McPherson Elementary School's state test result (39.1% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| McPherson Elementary School this school | 794 | 41.7% | 39.1% |
| Virginia Lake Elementary School Palatine | 717 | 42.3% | 40.7% |
| Lakewood Creek Elementary Montgomery | 767 | 37.8% | 40.7% |
| Thorp O A Elementary Scholastic Academy Chicago | 831 | 37.1% | 56.7% |
| Lincoln Elementary School Palatine | 772 | 47.3% | 35.5% |
| Pulaski Intl School of Chicago Chicago | 889 | 34.0% | 54.9% |
Matched among Illinois elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where McPherson Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Cook County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 39.1% | #944 of 1,925 | #256 of 760 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 36.4% | #1,072 of 2,077 ▲ 185 | #318 of 829 ▲ 72 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 51.7% | #943 of 2,077 ▲ 204 | #300 of 829 ▲ 79 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 794 | #59 of 2,419 | #43 of 901 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.6:1 | #419 of 2,035 | #227 of 817 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 65.7% | #321 of 2,042 | #133 of 819 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 41.7% | #1,516 of 2,132 | #649 of 804 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +14.7% | #180 of 615 | #47 of 186 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
794
+230 (+41%) vs 2020
-32% since 1990-91, when it was 1,169
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 794 | 68.5 | 11.6:1 | 42% (331) |
| 2023-24 | 735 | 60 | 12.3:1 | 50% (368) |
| 2022-23 | 651 | 58 | 11.2:1 | 57% (368) |
| 2020-21 | 564 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 692 | 47.8 | 14.5:1 | 83% (572) |
| 2015-16 | 787 | 51 | 15.4:1 | 85% (668) |
| 2010-11 | 675 | 39 | 17.3:1 | 91% (612) |
| 2000-01 | 887 | 45 | 19.7:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 1,169 | 52 | 22.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for McPherson Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 15% (692 to 794); teachers up 43% (47.8 to 68.5).
About McPherson Elementary School
McPherson Elementary School, located in Chicago, Illinois, is a large elementary school. The school counted 794 students in 2024-25, covering pre-K through 8. The school is 108% bigger than the average for elementary schools in Illinois.
McPherson Elementary School is one of 622 schools in Chicago Public Schools Dist 299, which enrolls 324,396 students in total.
Hispanic students make up 47% of enrollment at McPherson Elementary School, the largest share of any group. The rest of enrollment is 33% White, 8% Black, 7% multiracial, and 5% Asian. Census estimates put the Hispanic share of Cook County's population at about 27%. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 66, compared with 70 nationally.
Based on 68.5 full-time-equivalent teachers, McPherson Elementary School has a ratio of 11.6:1. The average for elementary schools in Illinois, 13.9:1, is higher. Income data for the school show 42% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Across public schools in Cook County, the average is 66%.
Test results at McPherson Elementary School are 8.3 points below what its free or reduced-price lunch share predicts (39.1% actual, 47.4% predicted).
In Cook County, median household income comes to about $83,498, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 43% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 10%. Cook County counts 1,406 public schools with about 697,934 students.
Devry Advantage Academy High Schl, less than a tenth of a mile away, is the closest public school. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Of the 9 nearby schools with scores, including this one, McPherson Elementary School is 7th on average proficiency.
The school's federal locale classification is City: Large.
Federal records list enrollment at McPherson Elementary School as 564 in 2020-21 and 794 in 2024-25. A change that size can reflect a shift in the grades the school serves as well as a change in students.
Parents, students, and staff can share information on pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback here. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Cook County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
5,182,090
Census ACS
Median income
$83,498
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
43%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
1,406
697,934 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Chicago Public Schools Dist 299
- Lane Technical High SchoolHigh · 4,604 students
- Taft High SchoolHigh · 4,487 students
- Curie Metropolitan High SchoolHigh · 3,099 students
- Kenwood Academy High SchoolHigh · 2,268 students
- Young Magnet High SchoolHigh · 2,223 students
- Lincoln Park High SchoolHigh · 2,214 students
Other schools in Chicago
- Lane Technical High SchoolHigh · 4,604 students
- Taft High SchoolHigh · 4,487 students
- Curie Metropolitan High SchoolHigh · 3,099 students
- Kenwood Academy High SchoolHigh · 2,268 students
- Young Magnet High SchoolHigh · 2,223 students
- Lincoln Park High SchoolHigh · 2,214 students
Other McPherson Elementary schools
One other US public school is named McPherson Elementary. McPherson Elementary School is the largest of the 2.
- McPherson ElementaryNapa, CA · 376 students
Nearby schools
- Devry Advantage Academy High Schl0.0 mi · 152
- Amundsen High School0.5 mi · 1,507
- Ravenswood Elementary School0.6 mi · 522
- Chappell Elementary School0.6 mi · 598
- Courtenay Elementary Language Arts Center0.8 mi · 266
- Waters Elementary School0.8 mi · 702
Frequently asked questions
About McPherson Elementary SchoolHow large is McPherson Elementary School?
McPherson Elementary School enrolls approximately 794 students in grades PK-08.
What age range does McPherson Elementary School serve?
McPherson Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 08.
How many teachers does McPherson Elementary School have?
McPherson Elementary School employs 69 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 11.6:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at McPherson Elementary School?
At McPherson Elementary School, the student body is approximately 33% White, 47% Hispanic, 8% Black, 5% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Is McPherson Elementary School public or private?
McPherson Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Chicago Public Schools Dist 299.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.